"And thou, son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it: For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it: For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and of all the house of Israel his companions; and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thy hand." (Ezekiel 37:16-17)
During the recent Jewish holidays in September 2015, the Reconciliation with Israel Conference in Jerusalem, hosted by Kellen Davison, focused on recognizing the commonalities and addressing the areas that divide the two Abrahamic religions: Judaism and Christianity. As a result of conclusions made at the conference, Davison initiated the Commonwealth of Yisrael Project to help non-Jews join together in their common goal of bringing the Messiah Ben David, alongside the Jewish people, in a way that is mutually acceptable, conforming to Jewish law and Christian beliefs, and beneficial to all concerned.
The Commonwealth of Yisrael Project is intended to bring together non-Jews that love the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and recognize God’s eternal covenant with Israel, unifying them with each other and connecting them with the Jews. Davison spoke to Breaking Israel News, explaining that in order to succeed, the project must focus on the strong points that join people together.
Davison believes in spiritual unity among those that love the God of Israel, and between Jews and non-Jews. He refers to ‘The House of Joseph’, the brother who was exiled from among his brethren, comparing the present day meeting between Jews and non-Jews to the Biblical reunion between Joseph and his ten brothers (Genesis 49). The analogy shows how difficult this meeting can be.
“In the Bible, when Joseph’s brothers stood in front of him, they didn’t recognize him because he looked like an Egyptian and they were threatened by his authority as an Egyptian ruler,” said Davison. “But then later, using various ingenious ways, he revealed himself to them as the Egyptian with a Hebrew heart and powerful love of a brother.”
Davison added, “Today, there are a growing number of people rediscovering the richness of the Jewish Bible and nation. They are like Joseph in Egypt. The Jews don’t recognize them because they still appear Egyptian.” In the Biblical story, the sons of Jacob are reunited after many years of separation, yet the older brothers do not recognize Joseph since he now looks like an Egyptian.
We wish to quote a little more from Ezekiel 37
Esek 37,15-22 The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, `Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.` Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, `Ephraim's stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.` Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand. "When your countrymen ask you, `Won't you tell us what you mean by this?` say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph - which is in Ephraim's hand - and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand.` Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on and say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms.
From verse 21 and 22, we clearly see that this prophecy will be fulfilled when the Sovereign LORD takes the Israelites out of the nations from where they have been scattered and brings them back into their own land, which is called the mountains of Israel. Here they all will have one common king.
From the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel by the Jewish leadership headed by future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion on 14 May 1948, the whole world has been able to witness the steady flow of jews returning back to their own land, Israel. And now they are even beginning to recognize their long lost brother, Joseph, whom for us Christians represents the Lord Jesus Christ.
We at Spikers Corner wish Kellen Davison and his Commonwealth of Yisrael Project the best of luck in bringing together non-Jews that love the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and connecting them with the Jews. May God bless this project and be with us all.
Spikeren